Missouri Press release
NEW YORK, N.Y. – Junior
J'den Cox (Columbia, Mo.) became the second-ever two-time NCAA National Champion in Mizzou Wrestling history with a 4-2 win over Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) at Madison Square Garden in New York City, N.Y. on Saturday. Cox joined Ben Askren (2006, 2007) as the only Mizzou grapplers to finish a season atop of their weight class twice during their career.
Cox and McIntosh, two of arguably the most technical wrestlers in the nation, finished the first period scoreless. Cox nearly had a takedown near the end of the period, but McIntosh escaped Cox's grasp and got out of bounds for a restart. Cox and McIntosh traded escape points to start the second and third periods, respectively. McIntosh escaped with under a minute left in the match, tying the score, 1-1. At the time of the escape, Cox had just under a minute of riding time. With the buzzer nearing, Cox got both of McIntosh's legs to secure the takedown and the victory, 4-2 (point for riding time).
"I believe I had a great outing here at NCAAs this year. Definitely improved from the last few years. Dedication for this title goes to everyone who has ever had my back," said Cox. "Everyone who has always been there for me. Not just when times are great, but when everything's going wrong and things are hard. People who have your back like that and the people who are always there, that you consider family, even though they're not blood, those are what this dedicates to because this was not easy."
The hometown Tiger finishes the season 33-1, and is now 108-5 on his career. Cox recorded seven technical falls on the season, tied for fifth most in a season in program history. For his career, Cox has 14 technical falls, fourth most in Mizzou history and 24 major decisions, sixth most.
#TigerStyle finished the tournament in sixth place with 74.5 team points. Mizzou finished with four All-Americans, fourth most in program history (five in 2009, 2013, and 2015). Redshirt junior 149-pounder
Lavion Mayes (Mascoutah, Ill.), redshirt freshman 165-pounder
Daniel Lewis (Blue Springs, Mo.) and redshirt sophomore 184-pounder
Willie Miklus (Altoona, Iowa) joined Cox earning the esteemed award. Mayes finished third in the tournament, while Lewis finished fourth and Miklus sixth.
Cox became the fourth three-time All-American in school history, following Ben Askren (2004-07), Max Askren (2008-10), and
Drake Houdashelt (2013-15). Cox won the National Championship in 2014 in Oklahoma City, Okla., and placed fifth last season in St. Louis, Mo.
The Tiger junior became the 24th member of Mizzou's 100-win club with a 16-7 major decision victory in Mizzou's 19-14 win over Nebraska in the NWCA National Duals Series on Feb. 21. Cox reached the century mark in 105 matches, the fastest to 100 wins in program history. Cox also owns the best win percentage of any wrestler in program history over 100 wins at .955 (108-5), slightly ahead of Ben Askren's mark of .950 (153-8).
Mizzou now claims seven National Champions and 64 All-Americans in program history. In addition to Cox and Ben Askren each winning two titles, Max Askren claimed gold in 2010, Mark Ellis in 2009, and
Drake Houdashelt in 2015. Next season's NCAA Wrestling Championships will return to St. Louis, Mo., March 16-18 at the Scottrade Center.
For all the latest on Mizzou Wrestling, stay tuned to
MUTigers.com and follow the team on
Facebook,
Twitter, and
Instagram (MizzouWrestling).
Match Results
197 Final:
#2
J'den Cox (Mizzou) def. #1 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) by 4-2 decision
Top-10 Team Scores
1. Penn State, 123.0
2. Oklahoma State, 97.5
3. Ohio State, 86.0
4. Virginia Tech, 82.0
5. Iowa, 81.0
6. Mizzou, 74.5
7. Cornell, 67.0
8. Nebraska, 58.0
T9. Illinois, 50.5
T9. Michigan, 50.5
